In a concerning trend, more and more dental practices in Northern Ireland are refusing to take on National Health Service (NHS) patients, leaving thousands without access to affordable dental care. The issue has become a growing problem, with over 53,000 NHS patients removed from dentist lists in the past two years alone.
Joe Friel, a 39-year-old from Londonderry, is one of the many affected. He has a gap in his teeth that he describes as “the size of a goalpost,” but despite calling 20 dental practices over four months, he has been unable to find an NHS dentist to treat him. “I’ve spent an hour a week for the last three or four months ringing round dentists,” Friel said, “and no one could take me on under the NHS.”
The problem is not limited to Friel. Stella McBrearty, 76, was also recently informed that her regular dentist of over 30 years had left the practice, and she would no longer be treated as an NHS patient. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I’ve worked my whole life, paid my taxes, now I’m getting this free treatment and it’s taken away from you.”
According to the Department of Health, there are currently 1,205 dental practices registered to provide NHS services in Northern Ireland, spread across the region. However, it is unclear how many of these dentists are actually accepting new NHS patients.
Dentist Rachele Crozier, who has been practicing for 20 years, said it was “heartbreaking” to have to drop her NHS patients, as the NHS fees simply do not cover the cost of treatment. “If you’re working in a model where, every time you make a denture or do a certain treatment on a person and that, actually, is a deficit, well, you can’t pay your staff, you can’t pay your electricity bill, so you can only sustain that for so long,” she explained.
The Department of Health has acknowledged the issue, stating that patients who find themselves without a dentist may need to approach several practices or travel outside their local area. They also mentioned that those unable to secure an appointment may be eligible for the dental access scheme.
However, for individuals like Joe Friel and Stella McBrearty, the struggle to find affordable dental care continues, leaving them concerned not only for their own health but also for the wellbeing of their families.
